


Fifteen and One

by horatiofrog



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e02 The Blind Banker, a glimpse into Sherlock's mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2013-09-02
Packaged: 2017-12-25 10:13:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/951875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horatiofrog/pseuds/horatiofrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What went through Sherlock's mind when he saw the spray painted cipher in his flat?  Here's one possibility...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fifteen and One

Twenty-four minutes. It has been exactly twenty-four minutes since he raced out of the flat, searching for that missing piece of the puzzle.

He should have noticed sooner, upon his arrival: the silent flat, the stillness of the room, the unsoiled debris of an expected meal complete with half-glasses of wine left untouched.

Chasing the clues, the thrill of the hunt had overtaken him. Blinded him to what had been there all along. _(The London A-Z, stupid, obvious! A book everyone owns!)_

The glint of gold stops him. The bold message, sprawled over the windows of their home in Michigan paint that makes him take notice.

Fifteen and one. _Deadman_.

The flat is still too quiet. No sign of John. No sign of the girl _(Susan? Sharon? No—Sarah, need to remember that, John seems to fancy her, God knows why)._

He looks again. The signs are there—the trays, the wine glasses, everything askew _(aside from the normal things, experiments and evidence and whatnot)._

John wouldn't leave a mess. He suspects it's the training in him.

John also wouldn't leave the girl _(Sarah, Sarah, need to remember that)._ Her handbag is still in the living room, curled next to a stack of Lukis's books.

Conclusion: Unexpected leave. _Kidnap._

They were waiting. Only way they could have acted so quickly.

He thinks of Soo Lin _(bright girl, brave girl),_ dead on the workroom floor. He thinks of Van Coon and Lukis _(easy cash, in over their heads),_ dead by a lethal projectile though they thought themselves safe.

Fifteen and one. _Deadman._

His heart nearly stops when he finally _(finally)_ puts it all together. He looks at his mobile, checks the time. Twenty-seven minutes since he raced out of the flat, leaving John and Sarah _(good, you're remembering)_ alone. Leaving them in peril.

He thinks of the message, the one John had the foresight to photograph: Nine mill for jade pin. Dragon den black tramway.

His eyes flicker up to the yellow warning, a bright beacon of impending doom.

Fifteen and one.

_Deadman._

_Not if I can help it._


End file.
